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Nora Nealis, Pres. of NCA & Lois

The other night, my cousin Barry Bornstein, up in Philadelphia, told me that his building inspections and general contracting business was really picking up.

“How come?” I asked, delighted after all the gloomy-doomy tales I’d been hearing from friends in the northeast.

“ BNI®”, he said, not, I hoped, referring to the infamous secret police of Ghana. (I looked it up while we were talking.) He meant that he’d joined what is, apparently, the world’s largest business referral network. It slogan is "Local Business– Global Network.”

Barry’s involved only in the local group which generates more than enough business for him. The Philly group has members that both offer and need all kinds of services. They get together every week or so. Not every referral pans out but, so far, Barry’s converted five of them into solid contracts.

He does his part the other way, too, passing along referrals to fellow members. He also does business with an insurance guy in the group.

One result is a near quality guarantee. When members are responsible for a job, they try to make it perfect. Another benefit is that the group listens to practice presentations, dress rehearsals. Barry says this helps him to deliver a more concise message to potential new clients.

Referrals can take time to percolate.

Quite a few of our agency’s clients came from referrals and about half of our potential client list was referred to us.

Also, I was guest speaker at a Luxury Marketing Council meeting in Miami and, afterwards, met Robin Katz, a real estate agent, who introduced me to a South Florida couple who were starting a new business. Then, just last week, Robin arranged a meeting with Lynette Janac, publisher of South Florida Luxury Guide. We’re not sure how we can help each other, yet.

This is just plain great networking, which I’d learned from my friend, Andrea Nierenberg, who’s written a lot of books about doing it right. Click here for her books.

Barry’s BNI probably once stood for Business Network International but now goes just by the initials. (The other option is Bureau of National Investigations in Ghana.)

The difference between my networking and an organized Referral Program like BNI’s is that leads come in regularly. There are other similar groups. My friend, Dwain Jeworski, who is visiting from Vancouver, BC, told me he’s been working with a group called “Trusted Team". They’ve just set up a referral site : Visit their site here.

Groups like this are sort of a combined Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, and Marketing/Trade Association all in one. I think they’re a great idea. They’re very organized, very efficient and every participant benefits. I also think the structure gives the players a certain discipline. Also, with the crazy time constraints these days, we need to get leads faster.

Here are a few other ideas for you to maybe get some new prospects. A hint, first: I always give something away right off the bat - information, a book, a gift. It seems to work, for me, anyway.

Email your own customer file to mention that you have some time available to talk to new clients. Is there anyone they might recommend? Dwain told me that the last time he did this, three companies gave him some extended work.

LinkedIn is a great referral network. You can go to a particular company you’re interested in working with, and find the exact person there who might be hiring now. You can have a mutual contact introduce you or, if you have a special LinkedIn Service, you can reach out and “message” that person directly.

I use LinkedIn to make friends. I formed my own group there, Marketing Matters More Than Ever . (You’re invited to join us.) We have discussions, meet each other and give our advice on various issues.